Death of Mr Dodsley: A London Bibliomystery

Description

'A bookshop is a first-rate place for unobtrusive observation,' he continued. 'One can remain in it an indefinite time, dipping into one book after another, all over the place.' Mr. Richard Dodsley, owner of a fine second-hand bookshop on Charing Cross Road, has been found murdered in the cold hours of the morning. Shot in his own office, few clues remain besides three cigarette ends, two spent matches and a few books on the shelves which have been rearranged. In an investigation spanning the second-hand bookshops of London and the Houses of Parliament (since an MP's new crime novel Death at the Desk appears to have some bearing on the case), Ferguson's series sleuth MacNab is at hand to assist Scotland Yard in this atmospheric and ingenious fair-play bibliomystery, first published in 1937.

John Ferguson (1871-1952) began pursuing a successful literary career in his forties. His ministry in the Episcopalian church took him around the country helping him vary the backgrounds of his books, and he was recognised by critic Douglas Thomson in later years as 'one of the most delightful stylists in the genre'.